Rail joint



June 3v. 1924. v i v 1,496,764

v E. E. SPENCER v RAIL JOINTl Filed Nov. 28 1921 H 2 sufra-sheet l K v `gvenoc Eddie E- 511:12111:15"

Patented .lune 3, 1924.

EDDIE E. SPENCER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL

JOINT.l

Application filed November 28, 1921. Serial No. 518,434.

To all whom t may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, Enom E. SPENCER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rail joints for connecting abutting rails in proper alignment. i

The primary object of the inventiony is the provision of a rail aligning member, particularly adapted-for use as a joint connecting member, ha-ving the rails properly mounted 4therein to permit longitudinal sliding incident to expansiony or contraction of the same .during variation of temperature.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rail joint member adapted to receive the abutting .ends of aligning rails, saidY member being of such construction 'as to be susceptible of attachment to a road bed, ythe attaching means being independent of any engagement with the vrail sections, thus leaving themv to expand or contract in proper manner, doing away with rupture, buckling and straining .of all connectingI parts, such as is ordinarily the case in the ordinary splice rail joints.

Other objects and advantages will befapparent during the course of the following detailed description.

In ythe accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate cor responding parts throughout the kseveral views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pre ferred type of rail joint member and showing the manner in which the rail sections are .assembled therein.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the improved member illustrated in Figure land showing the same as used upon the road bed to maintain rail sections inproper alignment.

Figure 3 is a transverse crossl sectional view taken on the line 3-3of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 `of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a side eleva-tion of a modified form of railv member adapted to secure va rail section tothe road bed in an indirect 'manner to permit tliefproper expansion or contraction thereof.

. Figure 6 is a plan view of the; rail con nectinof member illustrated in Figure 5.

. In tie drawings, wherein for the purpose Vof illustration are shown the forms of the improved rail connecting member, the letter A designates an ordinary railway road bed, ,including the ties B; railsections C; and the improved member D for mounting of the rail sections C upon the ties B. j'

The member D is adapted for. use in place ofthe ordinary splice and fish plates yused. for

rigid attachment to .the ties and rail sections toprovide a rail joint. 'Ilie same is preferably for-med ofv a single piece, such as.

a casting of high grade steel, andl includes the substantially L-shaped side plates 15 and 16;/connecting portions 17 for holding` said plates 15 and 16 in appropriately spaced relation; and the attaching feet 18. Each of 4 the .side plates 15 and 16 has an inside vertical surface 2O and a rdownwardly inclined surface 21 leading from the-vertical surface 20. The surfaces 2O and l21 are provided forrespective contact with ythe outer surfaces of the web portion 22 and base flange portion v23 of ay rail section C. It is-preferred, that the lower horizontal and longitudinal edges 25 of the side plates 15 and 16 be in such relation as to lie upon the top surfaces 26 ,of the road bed `ties B when the improved member Dis mounted thereon. l

The connecting portion 17 for holding the plates 15 and 16 in proper rigid .and spaced relation, includes bottom transverse bars 27,

which are mounted one at each end .of the .total length of the plates 15 and 16. The

-upper surfaces 29 ofthe bars 27 are adapted to receive the bottom surface of thebase flange 23 ofv a rail C. The space between the facing Iedges ofthe end connecting bars 27 remains open, and .consequently thebottom surface of the rail sections C which are assembled in the member D will be exposed, and which is a preferred condition, in order that the bottom surfaces of the rail members C may properly rest upon the upper surfaces 26 of the Aties B, and in manner to be Subscquently described.

It is preferred that the attaching feet 18 be formed upon the plates and 16 to pro- `iect outwardly and laterally therefrom, the same being placed approximately in the middle of each of said plates and intermediate the connecting portions 17. The bottom surfaces 31 of the attaching feet 18 preferably lie flush with the lower marginal edges of the side plates 15 and 16 in order that said surfaces 31 may lie flush upon the top surfaces of the ties B to which the member D is attached. Each attaching foot 18 is provided with an aperture 32 upon the outer end thereof adapted to receive an ordinary railway spike 33 or the like, and whereby the member D may be properly attached to the road bed; said spikes 33 mounting the member D in rigid manner upon the ties B of a road way A and independent of any di* rect engagement with the rail sections C.

In assembling, the member D is mounted upon the road way A in such manner that the bars 27 thereof extend downwardly in the space 35 provided between adjacent ties B. It is preferred that the width of the space intermediate adjacent ties B be of just slightly greater dimension than the Width of the bars 27, in order to permit the sides of the bar 27 to snugly engage the vertical sides 86 of the ties B. The width of a tie B at any rate, can be a predetermined width, and the distance between the facing side surfaces of the end connecting portion 17 can be of a sufhcient dimension to comfortably receive the tie B intermediate the same, substantially as illustrated Ain Figure 2. It can thus be seen that the member D is braced to a considerable extent by reason of the fact that the bars 27 of the member D extend below the top surfacesy of the ties D and engage the vertical sides 35 of certain of said ties. The exact position of the member D is determined in any ap i proved manner, and the spikes 33 are then driven into engagementwith the tie B upon the upper surface of which the att-aching feet 18 lie. lt can readily be seen that the rail section C can be longitudinally slid into the inverted T-slot in the member D, and in order to properly place said rail sections in alignment. As is illustrated in Figure 2, a short space remains between the abutting ends of rail sections C which are seated in the chair member D, and since no road bed engaging parts are in direct contact with any of the rail sections C, said rail sections are in consequence thereof permitted to assert their natural expansion and contraction yincident to temperature variations. It is also obvious that the bottoni surface of the rail base flange 23 lies directly upon the up er surface 26 of the various ties B and thus permits the standard assemblage of the rail sections C in relation to the ties B.

rl`he modified form of rail retainer l similar in nature to the -joint connecting member D. The same includes side plates and 46, similar to the side plates -15 and 16 in all respects, and which are rigidly connected by the connecting portion 47, serving the same function as the portion 17 in the preferred type of member D. The connecting portion 47 includes the projecting reinforcing side portions 48, which have the transverse bar member 49 extending below the plates 45 and 46 and adapted to transversely span beneath a rail section C. rEhe bar 49 is of the same formation and relative width as the bar 27 above described. The attaching portion 47 is, however, positioned at a central point upon the plates 45 and 46, only one of the attaching portions 47 being provided and in contradistinction to the end attaching portions 17 upon the chair or member D. The attaching feet 50= are provided upon the plates 45 and 46, a pair of these feet being provided laterally upon each plate 45 and 46, and adjacent the ends of each plate. rllhe feet 50 are provided for a purpose exactly similar to the attaching feet 18 above described, and are adapted to have their lower surfaces rest upon the upper surfaces 26 of ties B in order to receive spikes 33 for attachment of the rail attaching device E to the road bed A.

It should be noted that the views in Figures 5 and 6 are of the member E and show a single rail section C connected upon the ties B. The various portions of the member E provide a lT-slot like opening for reception of the web and base flange portions of a single rail section C, and as can be readily seen the member E is used for maintaining the section C upon a road way without directly attaching any portion of said rail section C to the Aties B. rThe advantage in this is readily apparent, since thereby the rail C may assume any eXpansion or contraction incident to temperature changes and will not exert any buckling or shifting action upon the ties B of the roadway, and thereby preserving the road bed A to its maximum extent. V

From the foregoing it can be seen that a type of joint connecting member and rail sect-ion attaching chair has been provided which is used to indirectly mount rail sections upon a road bed to permit longitudinal shifting movement of the rail sections incident to natural causes, Without permitting any vertical or lateral displacement of the longitudinal alignment of the rails. No bolts or other means such as splicing plates are directly connected toy the rail member C.

Various changes in the shape, size and arrangement may be made to the forms of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim.

l claim.:

A rail joint comprising a pair of side plates connected by relatively narrow portions extending` below the lower marginal' edges of said plates and cooperating with sai-d side plates to provide substantially in-l verted V-shaped slots, the side plates having lateral bulges cooperating with the connecting portions of the same in reinforcing said side plates at said connecting portions, said rail joint when mounted upon a road bed adapted to have its connecting portions extending downwardly intermediate adjacent ties to have rail base flanges resting directly upon the road bed ties, and attaching feet provided laterally upon said plates having apertures in the outer ends thereof, the lower surfaces of said attaching feet lying flush with the lower marginal edges of said side plates and adapted to engage on the top surface of the road bed ties when the rail joint is assembled to a road bed, and securing elements in the apertures of said attaching feet for engagement with road ties.

EDDIE E. SPENCER. 

